History Repeats Itself
by OceanOfHell
Summary: LilyLucius, LilyJames, Have you ever wondered what happened in their seventh year at Hogwarts? Well... this is their story. R&R please! Chapter 12 is up!
1. Prologue

Hello dear Harry Potter readers. Have you ever wondered what happened during the seventh year at Hogwarts when Lily Evans and James Potter attended Hogwarts? Have you ever really wondered more about why Severus Snape absolutely despises Harry, it couldn't be just that one incident from the 5th book... and why does Lucius Malfoy need money and power to make himself feel better? This story should give you answers.

**Title**  
History Repeats Itself

**Characters**  
Lily Evans, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape

**Other Characters (in order of appearance)**  
Petunia Evans, Mrs. Evans, Jessica White, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Narcissa Black, Argus Filch, Mrs. Norris, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Professor Flitwick

**Rating**  
R, because of language and in future chapters, some sexual content

**Pairings**  
Lily/Lucius, Lily/James, Jessica/Sirius, Narcissa/Lucius

**Disclaimer**  
I do not own Harry Potter or any other character/setting in this story, it all belongs to J.K.Rowlings and I really do envy her, but if wishes were fishes we'd have no water. THIS DISCLAIMER GOES FOR ALL FUTURE CHAPTERS BECAUSE I REFUSE TO KEEP HAVING TO TELL MYSELF THAT THEY ARE'NT MINE!!!! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!

**Summary**  
In the 5th book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, our dear readers find out just a little more about Harry's parents (and why Snape despises them). We discover that Lily and James never actually got together until their seventh year and that James had quite the problem being nice to people and deflating his ever-growing ego. This is their story…

**Warning**  
I know that some of you might argue with me because James Potter was the Head Boy in his 7th year. Bear with me. This is kind of an alternate universe-almost type thing because in 1995, Lucius Malfoy was 41, which means that he would have been born around 1954, which means he would have been in school around 1965, and we all know that the Potters didn't start school until 1971. So, we're just going to pretend that they're a whole lot younger than they should really be. Enjoy!

**Thanks for reviewing!** (all the signed reviews)  
Ms. X. Lefty9, Black Snow, chickensoup3, Addy, starblck, r e f a r u l e s, btzfungrl09, annoyingwierdo, SCALES-TALON, Yellow Crayon, champtennis, nua, Realalien, a-monkey-in-disguise, nexiumchick, Crisi, The-Girl-Who-Lived, Rnb Diva Gurl, thuyanh91

Just to maybe clear up some questions to begin with. The title is probably the first thing that you're wondering about. There will be a sequel to this story, just to go along with the title. History Repeats Itself would not be the title, if there wasn't a history… and a repetition. This is the history.

* * *

**Prologue**

Hello and welcome to the library at Hogwarts. Here you will find everything that your heart could desire. No matter what you seek, just ask and I will help you find it. Whether it be a book on potions, werewolves, history, or even fiction, we have it all. But you're not looking for that, are you? No. I can see right into your desires.

You obviously believe in the power of fate. Well let me tell you, child, there are many stories about fate here. But I can tell that you want something special, don't you? You wish to read about your family's history at Hogwarts, yes? Disbelief? I told you that I could see into your deepest desires. And I have the perfect books for you. The first one talks about the normal fate between Gryffindors and Slytherins, while the second one, the one about your parents who where fated to overcome the powers that tried to break them apart.

They never told you they had a book? Well that would be because they don't know. Let's keep this our little secret. This library here contains a little room that writes down the story of everybody at Hogwarts, but it only lasts from the moment the enter the train in their first year, until they leave on the train in their seventh year. Of course, we archive every single one of them, but there are few that are created into the books that only a select few can read. You see, if someone is looking at the book that you hold in your hand, you know, the one about your parents, they will only see Hogwarts: A History. What they don't know can't hurt them.

Anyway... come with me and I will give you the books, and you can sit and read until the wee hours of the morning.


	2. It Begins

**History Repeats Itself**

****

**Chapter 1 - It Begins**

In the middle of August, an owl arrived at the Evans' house, delivering the letter of school supplies to Lily Evans' window. The letter reminded her of her choices for the classes in her seventh year, and it also held the surprising news that she had been selected as Head Girl. However, the letter failed to mention the name of her male counterpart that would join her as the Head Boy. Thrilled as ever she ran downstairs to show her mother the letter when she bumped into her sister, Petunia, who sneered menacingly.

"What's that, another letter from your school of freaks? Did they not accept you this time? Did they say that you weren't good enough and you had to be let go?" she spat.

Pushing past her annoying sister, Lily raced through the house looking for her mother. Finding her in the kitchen, she threw her arms around her and danced gleefully. "Mum! Mum! I'm the Head Girl at school! I was picked from the top students and the best candidates and I'm the Head Girl!" she exclaimed happily.

Her mother wrapped her arms around her daughter, squeezing her tightly, not understanding in the slightest what her daughter was talking about, but she was happy for her nonetheless. "It's a pity that your father can't be here to see you off to school on such a happy day, but you know that he had to leave on an emergency business trip early this morning."

The smile slipped off the pretty face as the thought of not seeing her father before she left to school registered in Lily's mind. "But he promised!" she blurted. "How could he leave without at least saying goodbye?"

Her mother sighed. "You know your father. He would never leave without leaving something for you." She walked over to the table and slid the tiny box off the table and handed it to Lily.

She opened the box to reveal a necklace. A thin gold chain sparkled in the lights coming from the kitchen ceiling while a jewel hung gracefully. The jewel glowed with a mix of red and gold as a miniature lion made movements as though it was growling and roaring fiercely from its encasings. "Your father was going to give it to you when we took you to platform 9 3/4, but he had to leave early so he asked me to give it to you when you got up." Lily's mother pulled the chain out of the box and unhooked it, placing it around her daughter's neck; she clasped the necklace in place.

"Now, hurry up and get dressed, we have a long day at Diagon Alley if we're going to get you your school supplies by the end of the week."

* * *

The trip to Diagon Alley had been quite the interesting one. At Flourish and Blotts she had run into the joker quartet: namely James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Their parents had given them the run of Diagon Alley and they had actually decided to hit the books before they looked at the new Quidditch supplies. When she walked in, they had been pestering one of the assistants there saying that they were looking for some kind of invisible book.

Sirius and James did nothing but stare at her as she hurried past them and gave the poor assistant a list of the books she was looking for. Even Peter and Remus stopped their antics to look at the changed Lily Evans. When they all had left school, she had been a hardworking student with hardly any time for joking around, nevertheless relationships. Even before the summer she was pretty, but something had happened to make her even more beautiful. Lily had allowed her fiery hair to flow and curl down her back and she started using tiny amounts of makeup to accentuate her facial features.

"You know... I do believe that our beautiful Lily Evans has become the new Head Girl at Hogwarts, the first Gryffindor lady that it's been since our first year." James stated, loud enough for the entire store to hear.

Piercing green eyes turned to look at the grinning face of James Potter. "And I've heard that the handsome James Potter has become the Quidditch team captain, the first time a _boy_ has ever been given that honor."

A quiet 'ouch' was heard coming out of the side of Sirius' mouth as Remus and Peter tried to hide their laughter by coughing.

As she leaned over the counter to get her books, her father's necklace slipped out from underneath her robes and swung in the air, glistening in the sun. As she reached to hide it again, James slipped his hand around it and pulled it towards him gently. "Well, look at this. The Gryffindor lion is adorning her gorgeous neck. Are we wearing jewelry now, Lily? I thought that you didn't feel the need to put such -he imitated her voice- 'materialistic baubles around any part of your body'."

Lily placed her small hand on his, pulled his hand off her necklace and smiled, "People are allowed to change, James. Although I can see that you have not. You're the same egotistical jerk who for one whole minute cannot leave me the hell alone!" She slammed a few galleons down on the counter, picked up her books and stormed out of Flourish and Blotts.

Remus shook his head. "Prongs… you're going to have a hard time this year if your goal is to get that girl to go out with you. The first thing you're going to need to learn is to just shut up when you're around her."

* * *

Madame Malkins' Robes for All Occasions was a welcome sight for Lily. She knew, of all places, that she would not see James in here. Merlin knows he would be in there looking for new dress robes, like Lily.

She had tried on her latest choice, a deep, crimson red that came in a little at the waist and then flowed out to her ankles. The sleeves stretched tightly along her arms, and then gradually loosened until the fabric came to a tiny point just past her middle knuckle. Looking at herself in the mirror, the robe seemed to have been exquisitely made for her body, until she saw her hair. The red hair clashed with the robe so much that it became an eyesore. In frustration, she pulled her hair away from her shoulders, hoping that it would look better, but in her mind it continued to clash.

Lily dropped her hair and sunk to the ground. She was the Gryffindor Head Girl and she could not even wear the Gryffindor colors. The dark red mixed horribly with her hair, and the gold was too bright and looked tacky. She would just have to settle for a few black dress robes.

Dejected, she pulled herself off the ground and moved to take off the robe when a soft voice caught her by surprise.

"A green robe would be perfect. It would bring out the sparkle in your eyes, and it would look beautiful next to your hair. Just because you're in Gryffindor does not mean you need to wear those colors. You, dear Lily, were not made to wear the color that you so wish you could."

In the mirror, Lily could see the dark gray eyes of Lucius Malfoy. He slipped behind her and covered her with a brilliant emerald green robe. Reaching his arms around her shoulders, Lucius fastened the top clip and pulled away from her, almost as if to make his point.

The green robe seemed to intensify her beauty. Lily could only stand in front of the mirror staring at the color she had never dared to touch... the only robe that matched her fiery hair and her emerald eyes. She turned to face him. "Thank you, but I… I... - she paused- I think I'm just going to get that one." Lily pointed at the black, sparkling robe hanging on one of the dressing room doors. She unclipped the green one.

"Just a suggestion," he said reaching his hand out for the robe.

Lily quickly grabbed the black robe and hurried over to the counter to pay. Madame Malkin smiled gently at her and handed her the folded robe in a box to keep it from wrinkling.

"Dearie… you know he's right. Green is your color. You should try to wear it more often."

She looked down at the box she was holding and back at Lucius, who was looking through some men's dress robes. "I'll remember that," she whispered. "Thank you, this robe is perfect," she stated as she turned to face Lucius. "I'll see you at school?"

He turned to look at her and nodded his head.

"Bye," Lily said walking out of the store. What a strange day it had been.


	3. All Aboard

**History Repeats Itself**

**Chapter 2 - All Aboard**

Petunia had been left at home. She could not stand to have anything to do with Lily's horrible magic school, nevertheless drop her own sister off at the platform to say goodbye. Her mother had helped her unload her trunk and owl and get it onto the Hogwarts Express. Mrs. Evans struggled with letting go of her daughter, she could not stop hugging her and congratulating her on her Head Girl-ship.

  
  


"Mum, really. I have to go and start the Prefect's meeting... and I need to find out who is the Head Boy." Lily pulled away from her clingy mother.

  
  


She sighed. "I know, darling, but I'm just so proud of you. I can't believe that you're in your last year at Hogwarts and you're going to go out in the big world..." her voice cracked and trailed off.

  
  


Lily smiled at her mother. "I'm not the same eleven-year-old that got on this train six years ago. I'm almost eighteen. I'll be fine... and you know it."

  
  


Mrs. Evans had not been paying a lot of attention to her daughter. She was too busy looking over her shoulder at something that caught her eye. "Lily, darling. I do believe you have a very handsome, dark-haired admirer. He hasn't been able to take his eyes off of you since he's arrived."

  
  


"Oh mum, it's probably James Potter. I've told you all those stories about him; he's just a big jerk who needs to learn to leave people alone."

  
  


"Yes, but he's very... oh my!" Mrs. Evans exclaimed. "Lily Elaine Evans! You certainly are going to have your hands filled with boys that will be fighting for your attention. There is another handsome boy that staring at you. Except this one has a lighter complexion." She planted a motherly kiss on her daughter's cheek. "Have a great year, Lily. I'll miss you... and I promise that I will force your father to write to you."

  
  


"I'm sure you will, mum, but I do have to go. How would it look if I showed up late for my own meeting?" Lily returned the quick kiss and hurried onto the train.

  
  


* * *

  
  


People crowded together clogging the halls of the train. Lily pushed her way through to her normal compartment where she proceeded to discover a smug James and sheepish-looking Peter.

  
  


"What are you doing in here?" she practically spat as Remus and Sirius slid in behind her.

  
  


A jumble of indiscernible excuses filled the air as all four spoke at once. Her calm demeanor instantly disappeared. "Be quiet! All of you!" she hissed.

  
  


Peter trembled in his seat as the other three stared at Lily, someone who normally responded calmly.

  
  


"Calm down, Lily," James almost pleaded. "There were no other open compartments. How were we supposed to know that you were using it?"

  
  


Her noisy, ragged breathing cut through the silence. "Because _you_ always insisted on bothering me every single train ride to school. It's our last year and I've been using the same compartment for the past six _years_!" Lily took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Before anybody could find their voice, she broke the silence. "But that's alright. I have to go meet with the Head Boy before the Prefect's meeting." She turned on her heels and marched out of the quiet compartment.

  
  


* * *

  
  


She left them speechless. This was the first time where she had actually exploded on them without the Marauders playing a prank on her.

  
  


"Wow, Prongs," Sirius said, "it looks like she finally has a temper that matches her soft... billowy... beautiful hair."

  
  


James shot a glare at him. "We didn't do anything, though. We just sat here, waiting for her to come. Just to talk, that's it. We weren't going to play a prank on her. We weren't..."

  
  


Remus laughed. "Alright, James. You're rambling, and we get the picture." He stood up. I think I should follow her to the Prefect's meeting. Promise me you'll behave, at least a little?"

  
  


Sirius grinned sweetly. "Of course we will, Moony. Don't worry."

  
  


He shook his head as he gently closed the compartment door behind him.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Instead of going straight to the meeting, Lily instead decided to go into an empty compartment to change into her school robes. The white blouse fit perfectly on her curved figure while the skirt graced her legs beautifully. She pinned the Head Girl badge to her robe with a slight smile.

  
  


Shrinking her other clothes and putting them in a small purse she always carried under her robes, she left the compartment. Pushing her way passed the trolley of snacks, Lily opened the door to the meeting room, locking eyes with the pair of dark gray eyes already in the room.

  
  


"I was wondering when you'd be arrive. The Prefect's meeting is supposed to start soon."

  
  


She looked puzzled. "Did you..."

  
  


"Know?" he interrupted her. "You had a glow about you at Madame Malkins', so I assumed that you made Head Girl. I am most certainly pleased that you are."

  
  


She gently blushed, slightly turning her head away.

  
  


He seemed to completely ignore her embarrassment, "Anyway... down to business. I assume that you know what we're supposed to discuss, right?"

  
  


* * *

  
  


A tired-looking Remus entered the compartment of the restless Marauders.

  
  


"Wow," said Sirius, "I know that Lily's Head Girl and all, but she really couldn't have run you down so quickly." He winked at Remus, who promptly glared back.

  
  


"Well I'm sure it would have been much more enjoyable had the Head Boy not been..."

  
  


James and Sirius both made wild gestures with their hands. "Wait wait! Don't tell us!" they both exclaimed.

  
  


"Is he in... Gryffindor?" James asked.

  
  


"No."

  
  


"Ravenclaw? Hufflepuff?" Sirius continued.

  
  


"No. No."

  
  


"He's a Slytherin?" James yelled as Lily slid open the compartment door.

  
  


Her lips pursed and her stance seemed to say 'give me one reason to blow up'.

  
  


"Why, hello Lily!" Sirius cheerily greeted.

  
  


His grin vanished almost instantly as she glared daggers in his direction. "For you information, James Potter, Lucius is a gentleman. More so than you've ever been or ever will be," she spat.

  
  


James jumped up. "Lucius Malfoy? That prat! He thinks that he's better than everyone else because he's a pureblood!"

  
  


Lily shook her head in his direction. "You're wrong. He's only that way to you because you and your 'Marauders' are almost a disgrace to the wizarding community. You waste your intelligence and wizarding prowess on stupid pranks, instead of becoming more powerful wizards."

  
  


All four stared blankly at Lily until Peter found the nerve to speak. "Are you taking his side?"

  
  


"Yes, Lily. Are we nuisances and disgraces to the wizarding community?" James asked, his tone threateningly low.

  
  


Sirius nodded in silent agreement.

  
  


She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in preparation to reply.

  
  


"Don't bother, Lily," James started, "If that's how you feel, that's how you feel."

  
  


"...but I..." His now sullen face caused her words to trail off.

  
  


Nobody moved. Sirius, Remus, and Peter all looked at each other. James silently vowed never to speak to, prank, or look at Lily ever again. Lily stood there brooding, suddenly finding herself extremely angry.

  
  


"James Potter! How dare you assume that, because I understand somebody, what they believe is what I believe! I..."

  
  


"That's..."

  
  


"Don't you dare interrupt me! Merlin only knows what'll be left of you when I'm through with you!"

  
  


Sirius tensed, ready to prevent James from doing anything that he would regret.

  
  


"I am sick of your pranks. I am sick of your ego. Dammit, James, I am just sick of your assumptions of me." She moved closer to him like a condescending mother. "Do you realize that I have to work closely with Lucius all year? Do you know that we share a Common Room and it's most likely that I'll see him almost as much as I see the Gryffindors in all of my classes?" Her voice dropped. "Do you not know that I must understand how almost everybody works in order to attempt to get along with them?"

  
  


A brief pause in her speech caused everybody in the compartment to realize that the train had finally stopped and they were at Hogwarts.

  
  


She looked sadly upon the Marauders and turned to leave the compartment when she paused. "I'm almost sorry that you think that of me." Her cloak slightly billowed out behind her as Lily left.

  
  


James' eyes glued themselves to the floor as the other three moved to prepare to get off the train, knowing he needed to be left alone to brood.

  
  


"I don't," he whispered, not loud enough for anyone to hear.


	4. Teenage Drama Commences

**History Repeats Itself**

**Chapter 3 - Teenage Drama Commences**

Lily took a seat at the Gryffindor table across from her best friends, Jessica White. The brown-eyed brunette smiled at Lily as Dumbledore began his welcome speech.

  
  


"So, Lily," she spoke, "where were you on the train? I went to you usual compartment but all I found was a studly James Potter, a hyper Sirius Black and a weasely-looking Peter… what's his name… Pettigrew."

  
  


"I'm so sorry, Jess! I had to meet the Head Boy and run the Prefects' meeting. I would have come to find you, but I was busy." Lily apologized.

  
  


Everybody at the Gryffindor table burst out cheering: the Sorting Hat had called out "Gryffindor!" for the first First Year and the next three afterwards.

  
  


Jess grinned at Lily. "So, um, Lily? What exactly were the Marauders doing in your compartment?"

  
  


She partially grimaced. "They harassed me and then accused me of thinking of them as nuisances to the wizarding community because I was defending the Head Boy."

  
  


"Weasley, Charles!" The last First Year practically hopped to the Sorting Hat and pulled it down on his head.

  
  


"Gryffindor!" the Hat called out, causing the Gryffindor table to celebrate.

  
  


Jess attempted to grab Lily's attention and practically yelled, "Who's the Head Boy?"

  
  


Opening her mouth to reply, Lily quickly shut it as Dumbledore began his quick speech before the feast.

  
  


"First, I would like to introduce you to our Head Girl and Boy. Lily Evans and Lucius Malfoy, would you please stand up so that we may all know who you are."

  
  


Cheers emitted from the Gryffindor table (with some interwoven 'boos' for Lucius) as they stood up to be recognized and sat back down.

  
  


Jess kicked her under the table. "He's a hottie! And you guys share a Common Room, right?"

  
  


Smiling, and partially blushing, Lily replied, "Yeah, he is kind of cute, isn't he?"

  
  


"And his gray eyes, ooh! To die for! You two would look so cute together, Lily!" she exclaimed.

  
  


Dumbledore interrupted their conversation by saying a few key words making the food appear on the table in front of them. All the delicacies and more magically appeared in bowls and on plates all around the different tables.

  
  


Lily piled some food on her plate while she thought of a reply. "He _is_ really nice, but I don't know," she sighed. "I'm in so many classes and I really have to worry about my N.E.W.T.'s this year. I don't think I'd have time to have a boyfriend."

  
  


Jess' mouth dropped open. "How could you not have time for a boyfriend? Especially him? You're practically living together! And besides, Lils, he obviously really likes you. He hasn't taken his eyes off of you."

  
  


Lily blushed slightly and smiled only to hear the slight noise of a door opening and closing behind her.

  
  


"Uh oh," said Jess, "It looks like your boyfriend just left and he's a bit pissed off. You might need to go and comfort him… alone… in your Common Room." She smirked at Lily and winked.

  
  


* * *

  
  


He noticed that she had come in after everybody and sat across from her friend, Jessica, just a few seats away from Sirius.

  
  


James turned his head away from her and tried to focus on his friends, who were currently watching him. "Sorry guys," he threw a fake grin on his face, "I've got to try to clear this up in my head before I can do anything else."

  
  


"Prongs, you're going to have to watch what you say and try to stop jumping to conclusions. Either that or just wait until she's finished," Remus advised. "I know how much you want her to know that you're not such a bad guy. We can't, but more so, you can't jump down her throat like that. Normal girls most certainly don't appreciate that, and I'm pretty sure that Lily's not a normal girl."

  
  


_Yeah… she's extraordinary_, James thought.

  
  


"Heh, yeah Prongsie, mate. She looked almost ready to blow when she came in after the meeting and you pushed her over the edge. Not the smartest thing to do, in my book." Sirius said matter-of-factly. "Ow!" he yelped as Remus kicked him in the shin and James glared at him.

  
  


He tried to turn his attention away from Lily, so James cheered half-heartedly as the last student was sorted into Gryffindor.

  
  


"First, I would like to introduce you to our Head Girl and Boy. Lily Evans and Lucius Malfoy, would you please stand up so that we may all know who you are."

  
  


His hazel eyes watched her stand up and sit back down quickly. Her eyes twinkled merrily as she blushed because of something Jess said. _She's beautiful when she blushes_.

  
  


"… he is kind of cute, isn't he?" he heard over all the ruckus. James tried to figure out who Lily was talking about by following her line of vision, but she was looking down at her plate.

  
  


He strained to hear what Jess said, but missed the first part. "You two would look so cute together, Lily!" The food appeared on the tables and Sirius quickly grabbed as much as he could and piled it all on his plate, eliciting laughs from Remus and Peter, but not affecting James. Jealousy ripped through James as he listened to the rest of the conversation. "… he obviously really likes you. He hasn't taken his eyes off of you."

  
  


As something inside James snapped, Sirius knocked Remus in the knee and made a movement with his head towards James, who continued to look around wildly.

  
  


"Yo, Prongs! What are you looking for?" Sirius said catching James' attention.

  
  


He looked shocked that someone had noticed his almost-frantic state. "Nothing, Sirius. Don't worry, I'm just a little distracted."

  
  


Sirius and Remus looked at each other. James rarely called any one of his friends by their real name.

  
  


As if hearing something, James looked behind him to see the billowing cloak of Lucius Malfoy exiting the hall.

  
  


"It looks like your boyfriend just left…" he heard Jess start.

  
  


James closed his eyes and blocked out the rest of the room. _How could she do that to me? To the Gryffindors? How could she be dating an asshole like that?_ James punched the table hard and stormed out of the Hall.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Lucius admired Lily from across the Hall. Her auburn hair curled and twisted its way half-way down her back. He almost sighed as he thought about how lucky he was to share a room with her. _Of course, it would really piss off Potter if I got her to date me. Not to mention, I'd be the envy of every man_.

  
  


He stood up automatically after Dumbledore requested it. Sitting back down, he never too k his eyes off of her. He smiled inwardly as she engulfed herself totally in the conversation with her friend.

  
  


"Lucius!" someone called out next to him. "You haven't been paying any attention to what I've been saying!"

  
  


Cold gray eyes turned to look at the nobly-chiseled face of Narcissa Black. "Does it look like anything that you say means anything to me?"

  
  


"Well actually…"

  
  


"Shut up! I don't care about what you did, where you went, or who you fucked. You might be best off leaving me alone!" He stood up quickly and left, being that the feast was almost over, it was only the first day back and he was already annoyed with Narcissa Black.

  
  


There was no need for him to stay there: the Slytherin Prefects had been instructed to guide the First Years to the Common Room.

  
  


Narcissa smiled at the rest of the Slytherins. "It's just the beginning of the year. He'll come around." 


	5. Thoughts

**History Repeats Itself**

**Chapter 4 - Thoughts**

  
  


Lucius had been wandering around the school aimlessly for about an hour. It was after he headed toward the Slytherin Common Room that he realized that he did no know where the Head's Common Room was.

  
  


Strolling back into the Hall, Lucius almost ran into Dumbledore, who was currently standing in front of the main entrance.

  
  


He smiled at the cold, gray eyes. "Mr. Malfoy. I am delighted that you found your way back here. I knew that you don't know where your room is, or what the password is, so I was waiting for you."

  
  


"Thank you, Headmaster. I had forgotten about that when I stormed out. I should have realized that I didn't know where to go after that."

  
  


Dumbledore waved his hand at Lucius. "But enough idle chatter: you, no doubt, want to get to your room for al ittle rest before classes start." He held the door for Lucius as he guided him around the school. Somehow, they ended up near the entance to the Slytherin Common Room. Dumbledore stopped in front of a painting of a mermaid, sunbathing on a rock.

  
  


"The password is 'dinglehopper'. I'll leave you to get situated." With a slight wave, Dumbledore disappeared down the hall.

  
  


When lucius turned back to the painting, it had already swung open from when Dumbledore said the password. He jumped as a hand grabbed his shoulder.

  
  


"Look, Mrs. Norris. Students out of the beds. Let's take this one in and punish him for breaking the rules." A creepy man stood behind Lucius, with a tiny kitten prowling around his feet.

  
  


Lucius shook off the hand. "Who are you? You can't punish me, I'm the Head Boy, I'm supposed to be out of my bed and patrolling the halls; it's my duty."

  
  


The creepy man sneered. "I do'nt care if you're the Minister of Magic. You're a student outside of your Common Room after the curfew. It's _my_ job to patrol the halls, not yours, it's in my job description."

  
  


"I don't think you head me the first time. Who are you and what are you doing here?" Lucius asked.

  
  


Performing a mock-bow, the man replied, "Argus Filch and Mrs. Norris at your service. I'm the Hogwart's caretaker and you are breaking curfew!"

  
  


"Excuse me, Mr. Filch?" They both turned around to see Lily standingin the entranceway.

  
  


His entire demeanor suddenly brightened at the sight of the red-headed beauty. "Yes, Miss Evans, how may I help you?"

  
  


She bit her lip. "I'm sorry to rain on your parade, but Mister Malfoy is my male counterpart. He has the same priveleges, so he wouldn't actually be in trouble if he had been found by any of the other teachers." Lily smiled gently at him. "Trust me, I guarantee by the end of the week you will have caught plenty of rulebreakers."

  
  


Filch looked back and forth between Lily an dLucius before giving in. "I supposed... if you say so. But you never know with kids these days. They all could be walking around playing 'Head Boy'... I can't go around believing all that I hear," he grumbled as he walked down the hall.

  
  


Lucius shook his head. "I can't believe he didn't know that I was Head Boy. Who was that, anyway?"

  
  


"He's the replacement for Apollyon Pringle. Supposedly he got sick of all the Dung Bombs being thrown at him, so he retired," she replied, laughing.

  
  


"Well, why wasn't I informed?" snapped Lucius.

  
  


Lily narrowed her eyes. "Don't take your temper out on me. It's not my fault that you stomped out of the HAll before you could meet him. He's actually quite nice... if you're on his good side."

  
  


Lucius swallowed slowly. "I'm... sorry, Lily. It's just I'm a little annoyed with my house already. I just want to get this year over and done with."

  
  


"Stop, Lucius. You're going to start rambling. Don't you want to see our Common Room?" Lily side-stepped and motioned to the open portrait hole.

  
  


HE looked at her gently. "Yes, I would." Lucius did not move until Lily got the hind that he wanted her to go first.

  
  


A fire crackled merrily in the exquisite fireplace. Several large chandeliers lit the rest of the room with a soft light that reached every corner. The Common Room had large, overstuffed charis placed near tables all around the room. All the wood was a rich mahogany and the color of the furniture, a deep maroon, went well with the other colors of the room.

  
  


Lucius scowled at the Gryffindor colors but his mood lightened when he saw the design of the fireplace and the pattern of the maroon rug on the floor.

  
  


In the room, there were two doors. One had the Gryffindor lion engraved on the front, while a door exactly opposite had the Slytherin snake. Near the doors there were two staircases that wound behind the walls and up to a balcony.

  
  


"Our rooms are hidden by the walls of the staircases," Lily spoke suddenly.

  
  


He looked down at the firy girl in front of him. "Is there a bathroom?" he asked.

  
  


A playful smile danced around her lips. "Yes, the bathroom is right in the middle of the balcony. However, there seems to be only one, so I guess that we'll have to share."

  
  


They both jumped slightly as the portrait swung shut behind them. Lily laughed.

  
  


_Such a beautiful sound_, thought Lucius. "So we have to share a bathroom, huh?" He raised an eyebrow.

  
  


Her eyes twinkled merrily, "No peeking!" His deep, but quiet chuckle reached her ears.

  
  


_Oh, I won't need to, dearest Lily_. His eyes seemed to turn dark and Lily stopped smiling, but Lucius did not notice.

  
  


"Well," she said, "I'm rather tired and you found your way here safely, so I can go to bed now." Walking away from him, Lily disappeared up the staris next to the lion-emblazoned door.

  
  


A smile appeared on his lips as he moved towards his own staircase. "Good night, my sweet Lily."

  
  


* * *

  
  


James had stormed off and to the Gryffindor Common Room. He had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and only when she asked for the password did he recall that Remus had not told him what it was.

  
  


He held his head within his hands as he sat down in front of the portrait, waiting for REmus and the First Years. "I can't believe she would do that to me! To the Gryffindors! How long has she been with him?" He paused tot hink. "I know she was excited to go to Italy this summer... doesn't Malfoy have a Manor in Italy somewhere? Yeah... yeah, I think I heard him say something about a quick five-minute broomflight to Venice. What does she see in him? Can't she tell that I have changed? I don't even torture Snape as much as we did last year before that incident. How could she not see that. We didn't even prank anybody during the welcoming feast, but does she notice?" James found himself growing angry. "No! Of course not! _She's_ too busy with her fucking boyfriend."

  
  


He had been too distracted by his anger to notice the approaching group of First Years led by the Prefects and followed by the rest of the Gryffindor House.

  
  


Sirius pushed his way to the front and pounded his friend on the back. "I knew sooner or later you'd show us that you were crazy. Did you have a nice conversation with yourself, Prongsie?"

  
  


Although attempting to maintain the fierce scowl on his face, it melted away into a wide smile, followed by a deep chuckle. "Yes, Padfoot," James replied, "I was enjoying the chat with myself. So I would appreciate it if you would not interrupt me again."

  
  


Sirius shook his head and ruffled the hair of his friend, who was still sitting on the floor. "Moony, I do believe that our dear friend here has officially gone insane!" he exclaimed, wildly waving his arms, barely missing a First Year's head.

  
  


"Hey, watch it!" a student yelled. "You almost smacked my brother in the face!"

  
  


Sirius squealed with delight as he threw his arm around the First Year. "Another Weasley?" He looked down at the small redhead. "Are you going to be one of our prankster trainees?"

  
  


Charlie looked over to his older brother who had a stupid-looking grin plastered on his face. "Yeah! I'd love to! I've been hearing stories about you guys for the past two years!"

  
  


"Well, my short, little man," said Sirius holding out his other hand. "Welcome to the Junior Marauder training program!"

  
  


James grinned at the happy First Year and pulled himself off the floor. "Hmmm... we need to put him through an induction ceremony to see if he deserves the title of 'Junior Marauder'." He looked down at Charlie, putting a stern look on his face. "Being a Junior Marauder is no easy task, my little First Year. It has taken some people years to get passed the induction." He winked at Remus.

  
  


Charlie puffed out his chest importantly. "I can do it!"

  
  


"Pranking lions," Remus told the Fat Lady and she swung her portrait forward. "Sorry, I hate to interrupt this joyous occasion, but the hordes are getting restless."

  
  


Sirius threw his other arm around James and dragged both of them through the portrait hole. "Let's go figure out what he has to do, Prongsie."

  
  


"Yeah, let's think of a good challenge for this Weasley," James replied. _Perhaps this is what I need... a distraction_. 


	6. To Be a Gryffindor

**History Repeats Itself**

**Chapter 5 - To be a Gryffindor**

  
  


The clock flashed 7:00 and it's piercing whistle brought Lily out of her deep repose. She buried her face back into the pillow and smacked then nightstand next to her several times before actually reaching the clock to turn off the alarm. Smiling, Lily pulled her face out of the pillow, threw the covers off her and jumped to the floor.

  
  


She strolled over to the mirror to take a look at her reflection. One strap of her plain white tank top had slightly slid down her right shoulder. A strip of tanned skin was visible between the tank top and white, loosely-fitting pajama pants. Her hair fell around her face in waves and her green eyes were exceptionally sparkly (and awake) for seven o'clock in the morning.

  
  


"Well now, dearie, don't you look cute?" the mirror told her.

  
  


A smile graced her lips as she took the compliment with dignity. "Why thank you very much. You are exceptionally astute today." She spun away from the mirror and over to her closet to pull out her clothes for the day. Unclipping one of the uniform skirts, she threw that on her bed and walked over to the window, which she proceeded to lean her upper body out of.

  
  


"It feels warm enough," she commented to herself and went back to the closet. Lily pulled a button-up white blouse with short sleeves and threw that next to her skirt. Looking at the clock, which read 7:07, she grabbed her clothes off the bed and bounced out of her room.

  
  


Pulling the door shut behind her, Lily made her way up the rest of the stairs to the balcony. She looked over the edge and into her Common Room: the fire was still crackling merrily away. Turning away from the balcony, Lily reached out her unoccupied hand to open the bathroom door.

  
  


Just as she grabbed the handle, the door quickly pulled open, knocking her off-balance. Trying to catch herself, Lily dropped her clothes and threw her hands forward.

  
  


Strong arms wrapped around her waist as she threw her arms around his broad shoulders.

  
  


"Are you okay?" Lucius asked, enjoying the feeling of her soft body in his arms. "I didn't know you were out here, I figured that you'd still be sleeping."

  
  


She smiled into his shoulder. "No, I can never sleep before the first day of classes." Inhaling the scent of his soap, Lily sighed; it felt so good to be held again.

  
  


Neither of them moved until Lily realized that the only thing covering Lucius was a towel wrapped around his waist. She blushed and pulled away. "Sorry about that," she said, directing her eyes to the floor.

  
  


He closed the distance between them and moved a hand up to her chin. Pulling her chin up, he forced her eyes to look at his while he leaned over. His lips gently brushed her ear as he whispered, "Don't be sorry." Lucius slid past her and out teh door, leaving a breathless Lily behind.

  
  


The door closed behind her as she slid to the floor, clutching her newly wrinkled clothes to her chest. She let out a breath she had been holding in an attempt to calm her raging hormones.

  
  


"What I need is a good, cold shower to calm myself," she said aloud as she pulled herself off the floor, grabbing onto the sink to support her weak knees. Almost as if responding to her words, water started to sprinkle out of the showerhead. Pulling off her pajamas, Lily climbed into the giant shower and she let out a squeal as the ice-cold water hit her body.

  
  


* * *

  
  


He closed his eyes and fell backwards onto his bed. Her body had felt so good to him. _I should have kissed her when I had the chance_, he thought. She had been absolutely beautiful in her white pajaas with her lean, flat stomach showing. He picked himself up off the bed and threw on some comfortable clothing.

  
  


"I need and early-morning flying session," he said to himself as his lower abdomen tightened from thoughts of Lily.

  
  


* * *

  
  


After whispering the charm to iron her skirt, Lily buttoned the blouse to just above her bra. She hung her towel on the bar to dry and headed back to her room. Looking at the clock (7:43), movement outside of her window caught her eye.

  
  


Lily made her way over to the window. She saw Lucius flying around the Quidditch pitch. He cloak flapped around in the wind behind him as he zoomed around the three hoops. She watched him for a few more minutes before heading down for breakfast.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Jess tapped her foot impatiently: Lily was late for breakfast and Lily never was late for breakfast. When a door opened, she turned to see Lily waltzing into the Great Hall with a dreamy look on her face.

  
  


"You had sex with him, didn't you?" Jessica accused, pointing her finger. "I knew it! You are never late for breakfast unless you have a really really good reason!"

  
  


Lily's mouth dropped open. "I did not!" she said indignantly, plopping herself down and crossing her arms.

  
  


Jess raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Yeah, sure, Lils. So... if you didn't have sex, then why is it you came in here looking like you're on cloud nine?"

  
  


She turned her head away. "You know, Jess, I don't know if I _want_ to tell you... not that anything really happened, of course."

  
  


The brown eyes looked upon Lily knowingly. "Oh please... we both know that if something happened, you won't be able to keep it a secret for longer than... oh... five minutes. Spill it."

  
  


Laughter bubbled out of both of them as Lily prepared to indulge her friend. "Well... you see," she said, "nothing _really_ happened, but something could have."

  
  


Jess looked thoroughly confused. "Could you run that by me again?"

  
  


"Okay. My alarm went off at seven and I got ready to take a shower."

  
  


"You walked in on him naked!" she yelled, making the few students in the Hall give them weird looks.

  
  


Lily gave Jess a stern look. "Do you want to know or not?"

  
  


She threw up her hands. "Okay, okay! I won't interrupt again!"

  
  


"Alright. I was going to open the door when he threw it open, catching me off-guard and making me fall. Well, I didn't exactly fall... more like... stumbled into the arms of a very muscular Slytherin chaser." She held a hand up preventing Jess from interrupting. "There was definitely a little something going on, but I'm not quite sure what. I mean, we just kind of stood there until I noticed the towel wrapped around his waist. Yes, Jess, his _towel_... the only thing between me and... well... him."

  
  


Jess could not find her voice, so she just ended up moving her jaw around.

  
  


"Exactly," Lily said. "Then... oh, then... after I pulled away, he leaned in like he was going to kiss me... but he only ended up whispering in my ear."

  
  


She looked disappointed. "That's it? You came in looking like you had sex and all he did was whisper in you ear after holding you?"

  
  


"Oh come on! The guy is pure muscle. I practically melted when he had his arms wrapped around me. Of course, I do hope he acts on whatever it is that his happening between us."

  
  


"You are such a lucky girl, Lils! I hope you two get together soon!"

  
  


The doors to the Hall opened to reveal a slightly flushed Lucius Malfoy holding his broom. He glanced quickly at Lily and hurried over to the Slytherin table to grab some food before getting ready to go to class.

  
  


Just before he walked in, Lily had put some pancakes on the plate in front of her. She had just begun to pour on the syrup when he walked in and now it completely flooded the plate.

  
  


"Lily? Your pancakes are drowning here."

  
  


She snapped out of her reverie. "Oh goodness!" she said picking up a spoon and attempting to ladle some of the gravy into a bowl.

  
  


After clearing out most of the syrup, Lily inhaled her pancakes as fast as she could, practically bolting from the table and her friend in order to keep her composure around him.

  
  


"Lily! Wait!" Jess called out to the back of her retreating friend.

  
  


She turned around to wave at Jess, smacking her back against the door, opening it slightly. "I'll see you in class, I've got to get ready!"

  
  


Still facing the Hall, Lily pushed open the door until it hit something that squeaked and fell to the floor, groaning. "I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, "I didn't see you there!" She reached a hand out to help Peter, who only glared at her and pulled himself off the floor.

  
  


"Why don't you watch where you're going, Lily?" he snapped at her.

  
  


She narrowed her eyes. "Well pardon me for not realizing that the Marauders actually were down at breakfast an hour before classes start."

  
  


Sirius looked taken aback. "My dear, beautiful Lily... are you implying that we are complete slackers that wait until the last minute to get everything done?"

  
  


"Well..." Lily paused, then smiled, "yes!"

  
  


Sirius and Remus both laughed with Lily while James tried to look anywhere else and Peter fumed silently.

  
  


Lucius Malfoy came rushing out of the hall behind her holding his broom. "Lily! Oh, I'm glad I caught you." He sent a sly smile towards James and put his other hand on the small of her back. "Dumbledore wanted me to tell you that he wanted us to start getting things ready for a Halloween ball. I figured that if I caught you before class you could think about it during the day and we could discuss it tonight in _our_ Common Room."

  
  


"Thank you, Lucius, I'll think about it during History of Magic."

  
  


He smiled at her, removed his hand, and headed down the hall, leaving behind the group of Marauders gaping at his back.

  
  


James turned to look at Lily, his face red with anger. "So that's it? What exactly did you do last night in your _Common Room_? Did you have sex with that prat or something?" he snapped. "It's Lucius Malfoy, Lily! The one person who hates all those in Gryffindor! The one person who will most certainly do nothing but hurt you."

  
  


"And I'm sure that you're better for me, huh?" she spat at him. "Don't you know _you've_ already hurt me enough. I'm sick of you, James, just leave me alone!"

  
  


As she moved to walk away, James grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him. "Gryffindors do not mix well with Slytherins," he growled.

  
  


Lily looked up at him with sad-looking eyes. "Then perhaps I wasn't meant to be a Gryffindor."

  
  


James let go of her arm allowing her to leave before turning back to his friends. "It is now officially hopeless." 

  
  



	7. Comforting Sin

**History Repeats Itself**

**Chapter 6 - Comforting Sin**

  
  


She could not focus as she stumbled through the castle in an attempt to get away from everybody. Muttering the passwrod to the mermaid, Lily hurried into the room, running into a chair. With her anger getting the best of her, she grabbed the chair and attempted to throw it, only succeeding in sending it crashing to the ground. Collapsing against the fallen chair, Lily's tears partially stained it.

  
  


"Why does he have to be such an asshole?" she exclaimed into the cushion. A sudden recognition lit up in her eyes and she rushed over to the stairs and up to her room. From the trunk at the foot of her bed, Lily pulled out a shoebox. Fillping off the lid, she looked at all the cards he had ever sent her.

  
  


A tear fell down her cheek as she looked at her reflection in the mirror above her dresser. She wiped it away quickly when she saw the vase.

  
  


It had been a Valentine's day gift from James last year. Even though they had been unwanted, she kept the dozen red roses, with a preserving charm, in the shimmering crystal vase.

  
  


Clutching the box to her chest, she reached over to grab the vase. Heading out of her room, the fire caught her eye when she reentered the Common Room. Staring at the fire almost trance-like, Lily grabbed the roses from the vase and threw them into the fire. She closed her eyes and inhaled the bittersweet scent of the flowers, tossing the box into the fire next to the burning roses.

  
  


The vase slipped out of her hand to shatter on the floor as Lily collapsed to her knees, sobbing.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Lucius walked down the hall and away from the gaping group of Marauders. He was proud of how he succeeded in pissing off his enemies by touching Lily in front of them. _She didn't even pull away, either_, he thought with a smile, _perhaps, just perhaps, there may be a chance_.

  
  


He reached the portrait of the mermaid and murmured the password. Entering the Common Room, Lucius noticed the change in temperature from the warm, crackling fire. Lucius took the steps two at a time and reached his room quickly. Throwing open the door, he made it to the closet in order to change for classes. Coming out of the room, Lucius froze: somebody was in the Common Room making a lot of noise.

  
  


_It's only the second day, nobody could know how to get in_, he thought as he hurrie ddown the stairs and into the main room.

  
  


The scene surprised him. Lily had taken a box of something and had thrown it into the fire, where it burst into flames, releasing a powerful scent. Behind her, one of the comfortable chairs was laying on its side where Lily had shoved it. In front of the fire, shattered glass reflected light from the flickering flames into his eyes. Her body curled into the fetal position, laid shaking, right next to the broken glass.

  
  


Lucius left his position in the staircase and hurried over to her huddled form. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he pulled her into a warm, comforting embrace and she relaxed into his arms, crying into his chest.

  
  


"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked gently. "We can stay here and skip classes today if that will help at all."

  
  


She sniffled loudly and took a deep, shuddering breath. "I'd rather not go to class today, after all, _I'm_ not a Gryffindor, so why would I go to class with them?"

  
  


He rubbed her back. "Was I suppsed to understand that?" he chuckled deeply. "I don't think you should go to class, Lily, you're not making any sense."

  
  


When she did not reply, he deepened the embrace and just sat there holding the distraught Head Girl.

  
  


"I'm sorry, Lucius, but I just am not up to dealing with people today. You can go to class. I'm just going to stay here and calm myself before I go off and hex somebody."

  
  


"Alright," he gave in, "do you want me to bring up Jessica later? Maybe she can help you because I can't."

  
  


Lily shook her head, "No, Lucius, it's not that I don't want you to help me... it's just that I need to be alone to just run things through in my mind."

  
  


He smiled at her. "I understand. You still forgot to answer my question."

  
  


"What was it again, I'm sorry... I was a little preoccupied."

  
  


"I asked you if you wanted me to bring up Jessica after classes?"

  
  


She stood up, with her head hanging. "Yes please. I would really appreciate it." Lily turned towards her staircase.

  
  


"I'll send up some food at lunch," he said to her.

  
  


Lily paused at the stairs. "Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me."

  
  


_Maybe I do have a chance_, he thought as he left the Common Room.   
  


* * *

  
  


James stood outside the Hall, his jaw tight and his gaze on the floor. The one person that he could actually say that he loved had just told him that she did not want to be a Gryffindor. His obsession for her had flourished into an all-out crush, which turned into a desire... a need for one Lily Evans and she just told him that she did not want to be in the same House.

  
  


"James," Sirius asked putting a hand on his shouler, "are you coming?"

  
  


Not moving, he replied, "No, I'm not very hungry right now. I think I'll go get ready for class."

  
  


"Alright," said Sirius, pushing the other two Marauders into the Hall.

  
  


James looked up and quickly turned away from the Hall, marching solidly to the Gryffindor Common Room. He leaned against the picture of the Fat Lady.

  
  


"I think I really messed up this time!"

  
  


She smiled at the distraught James. "What prank did you pull this time?" Her face changed to almost a shock, "You didn't prank the new caretaker did you? He means business when it comes to rowdy students."

  
  


He looked down, "No. I think I did something even worse than pranking, because at least, aftwerwards, all of us can look back and laugh. Trust me, this time around we won't be laughing."

  
  


"You look lik eyou n eed to go in and just sleep for a little while. Can I have the password?"

  
  


He half-snorted. "No, I've got to focus on class...maybe that'll make me feel better... even just a little bit." James murmured the password and stalked passed the portrait.

  
  


"Poor boy... and it's the first day back, too," the Fat Lady said swinging shut behind him.

  
  


* * *

  
  


"We need to figure out how to get these two togehter," Sirius said. "James is practically head over heels for Lily, and she is obviously in denial."

  
  


"Well, he does seem to provoke her a lot," Peter squeaked.

  
  


Sirius smacked him on the back of hte head while Remus kicked him for hitting Peter.

  
  


"Leave him alone, Padfoot, he's actually right, you know." Remus chastised.

  
  


Peter sent a smug look at Sirius who just glared back.

  
  


"If she'd stop interrupting our conversations at the wrong time, maybe she'd see that James is different... more mature," Sirius almost whined.

  
  


Remus sighed in exasperation, "Padfoot... she's got to see him on her own. We can't sit her down and force her to talk to James." He put two pancakes on his plate and then handed the platter to Sirius.

  
  


A malicious grin appeared on Sirius' face as he stuffed an entire pancake into his mouth and bolted from the table.

  
  


"Shit, I gave him an idea," Remus said, banging his head against the table.

  
  


"That can't be good," stated Peter.

  
  


Remus halted his head-banging to look up at him, "Shut up, Wormtail."


	8. Plans

**History Repeats Itself**

**Chapter 7 - Plans**

"Hello, Jessie!" a voice said as a pair of warm arms wrapped themselves around her slim waist.

  
  


She turned around to look at the smirking face of Sirius Black. "Dear Merline, what could you possible want with me?" she asked, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration. "Don't you have some Slytherins to prank or some other bimbos to bother?"

  
  


Sirius flashed a winning smile, "None nearly as bimbo-ish as you!" He grabbed his head with his hands, "No! Must... not... be... distracted... cannot... flirt..."

  
  


Jess raised an eyebrow and watched him with interest. "Are you quite finished yet?"

  
  


He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I need you to help me with something..."

  
  


"Something?"

  
  


"Yes, something having to do with one James Potter and one Lily Evans. You see, they had quite a row this morning and all I want is for them to be at least on neutral terms with each other."

  
  


Jess looked unimpressed and crossed her arms. "And what exactly do _I_ have anything to do with this?"

  
  


Throwing an arm around her shoulders, Sirius tried not to look at her. "WEll... you see... Jess... um..."

  
  


"Would you stop stammering and get to the bloody point before I castrate you for touching me," she threatened.

  
  


His arm immediately left her shoulders. "I want you to help me lock them together... alone... in a room... without wants. Just force them to at least talk it all out. Of course," he added, winking, "You and I will be standing nearby in case a war breaks out. Either that or Lily tries to rape James or something."

  
  


Jess' mouth dropped open, "You have got to be nuts! First of all, if they've had a row already, they'll be at each other's throats before you even lock them in. Second of all, I don't think I could torture my best friend like that."

  
  


Sirius was taken aback, "Wait a fucking minute... torturing _your_ best friend! Do you have any idea what kind of hell James is going through? He didn't sleep last night, keeping all of us awake. That's why we were early for breakfast this morning. After their row outside of the Hall, James left without eating looking like a little dejected puppy with its tail between its legs! ...and you don't want to torture your friend, what about mine?"

  
  


Jess was stunned. "I didn't know she had that kind of effect on him."

  
  


"Normally only we, his best friends, the Marauders, only see it, but the kid just skipped breakfast... and we never miss a chance to eat. He walked off with his head down... and you know James. He's usually flashing smiles at all with two legs and a pair of..." he trailed off quickly. "ANyway, he's trying to get his mind off of her. I just want her to see a different side of him."

  
  


"And you're going to accomplish this by locking them in a room together?"

  
  


Sirius shook his head. "No, I just want them to sit and tlak about what happened. They both need to see the whole picture, rather than part of it. Catch my drift? They both enter conversations at the wrong time and hear the wrong things."

  
  


She finally caved in. "Fine. I'll help you, but let me tell you one thing: Lily is my best friend. I will be standing with my ear on that door ready to let her out if he so much as comes close to hurting her. And another thing, we can't do it during the week, they might not be out of that room for days."

  
  


"Right," he nodded. "We'll plan for this Friday after classes... we need to get this done before Quidditch tryouts next week. Which, by the by," he winked at her again, "are you trying out this year?"

  
  


Attempting to be mysterious, Jess replied, "Perhaps... I haven't decided yet." She swayed her hips as she walked away from him.

  
  


"What!" he exclaimed. "How can you not tryout? You're the best beather, next to me of course," his face gleamed as he chased her down the hall.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Professor Flitwick had not yet arrived, but still James sat in the classroom with his head on the desk. A bell sounded, bringing him out of his trance, signaling for the students to get to class.

  
  


Remus and Peter walked in and took the seats on either side of James, while Sirius entered, chatting excitedly with Jess, and took a seat with her on the other side of the room.

  
  


James looked at Remus, "What is he up to?" 

  
  


"Who, Padfoot?"

  
  


"No, the other Marauder that's not sitting with us," James snapped.

  
  


Remus held up his hand, "Hey, just because you attacked Lily and she fought back doesn't mean you can take it out on us." He looked at Sirius. "But on another note, I have no idea what he's doing."

  
  


"But what about..." Peter trailed off when Remus shot him a dirty look.

  
  


James had been too distracted to press the issue. "Where's Lily?" he asked as Professor Flitwick closed the door and called role.

  
  


When he called Lily's name, Jess piped up, "She's not feeling well, Professor. I don't think she'll be down."

  
  


"Where is she?" James hissed, writing a not to Sirius on their charmed parchment.

  
  


    _Why are you asking me_, Sirius wrote back
      
_Because you're sitting next to her best friend_, he scribbled.
  
  


He watched as Sirius elbowed Jess and whispered to her.

  
  


    _She doesn't know_, the words appeared on the parchment in front of James.
      
_How can she not know_? James wrote.
      
_Because she wasn't there when you chased off Lily! She only knows what I told her and from that, she deduced that Lily won't be showing up for classes today_, Sirius wrote angrily. _Now stop bothering me, I'm actually trying to pay attention_
  
  


James looked up to see Sirius writing notes down frantically on another piece of paper. He noticed that Jess would grab it and scribble something down and slide it back to Sirius.

  
  


He dropped his head back to the desk.

  
  


"Mr Potter!" Professor Flitwick callsed, "this is an important year for you so you might want to pay attention, even on the first day of classes."

  
  


"Sorry, Professor," James replied, picking his head up off the desk and forcing himself to listen. _This is going to be a very long day_.'   
  


* * *

  
  


At lunchtime, Sirius and Jess were still sitting together at the table, trying to work out all the kinds. They had finally decided to lock them in the Quidditch locker room because practices and tryouts did not start until the week after and they would be undisturbed until Monday, if necessary. The trick was getting them both in there without them noticing each other.

  
  


"Jess?" someone asked, poking her lightly on the shoulder.

  
  


She turned her head to see Lucius Malfoy, "How can I help you?"

  
  


"Lily asked me if you could come up later. I think she really needs you because something bothered her this morning," he replied.

  
  


Jess grabbed a plate of food and slid off the bench.

  
  


"Where are you going?" Sirius asked grabbing the arm with the plate and eyeing the food on it.

  
  


"I'm going to up talk to Lily and I probably won't be at class this afternoon, so I'll talk to you later and we can finish that," she pointed towards the parchment on the table.

  
  


Jess left the Hall with Lucius, who held the door for her, sending a sly look back at Sirius.


	9. Bad Days

**History Repeats Itself**

**Chapter 8 - Bad Days  
**

****

"Lily?" Jess asked, poking her head through Lily's bedroom door. Her friend had thrown on some comfortable clothing and was sitting on her window ledge staring out onto the Quidditch patch.

She turned and looked at Jess with large, sad eyes. "I'm just so sick of them, Jess. They don't leave me alone and they accuse me of things that I didn't even do!"

Jess crossed the room, pulled Lily off of the windowsill and into a tight embrace. "It's okay. Don't let them get to you. When you're feeling down, my Lilykins, don't forget that it is your last year with having to deal with all of their shit." She pulled away from Lily. "I brought us up some lunch, but I left it down in your absolutely gorgeous Common Room. I'll be right back." She hesitantly left the room.

Lily climbed up onto the bed and hugged her knees to her chest, waiting for Jess to reappear. Hearing a noise int he hall and a stream of curses, Lily ran to the door to see what happened.

At that moment, Jess came into view, carrying a plate of food an dhobbling along, trying not to put her food down on the floor.

"Shit, Lily! There was this gigantic piece of glass on the floor! It slice up my foot pretty good!"

Lily raced down the steps to help her friend. Taking the plate, she apologized, "I'm so sorry! I thought I had picked pu all the glass!"

Raising an eyebrow and leaning on Lily, she said, "There was glass on the floor?"

Gulping, Lily replied, "Yeah, I took everything tha tJames had ever given me and I burned it, except for the vase. I broke that in front of the fireplace, but I thought I had picked up all the pieces." She showed Jess her bandaged hands.

"Why didn't you use any magic? You know you can heal those."

Lily looked away as they neared the last step. "I needed to pick it up by myself and the pain in my hands makes me remember why I hate James Potter!"

Once they reached Lily's bed, Jess reached for her wand and pointed it at her foot, whispering a spell. "I don't know about you, but I need my feet in perfect condition for tryouts next week."

Lily turned away from her best friend. "I know that it's weird, but I had to have the satisfaction of doing something without magic. It was amazing!"

"You are a strange child, Lily Evans, that you are. But back to business... are you ever going to tell me what happened to you, or am I going to have to guess?"

With a chocking breath, Lily replied, "The Marauders, or more specifically James, accused me of being a whore and sleeping with Lucius."

Jess pretended to be surprised, Sirius had already told her what happened. "That's horrible! what right do they have to say something like that?"

"I don't know," the red-haired beauty sighed. "For some reason they seem to believe that I am dating Lucius Malfoy. Then because of his assumption, James told me that Gryffindors do not mix well with Slytherins."

"He told you that because he thinks that you're dating Lucius? What did you say?"

Lily sat on the bed and fiddled with her hands. "I told him that maybe I wasn't meant to be a Gryffindor... and that's when I ran off. I couldn't face them after saying something like that."

"Wow... that's got to be a slap in the face." Jess replied.

She snorted, "Heh... yeah, talk about it. I just... just want them to leave me alone. It would be nice."

Jess bit her lip and looked at Lily. "Well, did you ever think about talking to him?" she questioned, throwing herself backwards on the bed from her sitting position.

"How can I talk to him when all he does is attack me and accuse me of something that he couldn't even be sure of? Besides, he'd be too busy yelling at me for 'fucking a Slytherin'," she mocked.

"Well, Lily, what are you going to do? ARe you just going to hide here for the rest of the year?"

"N-no," she stammered. "I'll face up to them... just not today. I can't today."

Jess grabbed a sandwich from the plate and took a bite. "You know... I still think that you should talk to them, or him, and try to figure out what went wrong. Who knows, maybe you'll actually have a decent conversation instead of a screaming match."

"A decent conversation? With that prat? Not even his little followers can have a decent conversation with him. I'm sure they all end up focused on him and he starts showing off."

Long fingers played with her brown hair as she shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well... but on a more happier note, Lucius seems to really care about you."

A smile graced Lily's lips. "Really?"

* * *

  


Sirius had finally joined his friends.

James eyed him warily, "Glad to see you've finally decided to grace us with your most wonderful presence, Sirius."

Plopping down next to James, Sirius gently smacked the back of his head. "Oh come off it, Prongsie mate, I have discovered something absolutely wonderful about our beautiful Jessica White."

Placing a hand on his shoulder, James shoved Sirius backwards, knocking him off of the bench and onto the floor.

With a hard glare, Sirius picked himself up off the floor and righted himself. "You know what, James? It's only our first day of classes and you're even more of a prick than you were last year. You can apologize to me later, whenever you've decided to stop attacking your own _friends_." After grabbing some food from the table, Sirius stalked out of the Hall.

Remus gave James a sad look. "Sorry, Prongs, but you know he's right." He followed Sirius out with Peter trailing behind him.

James leaned forward and smacked his head off of the table. Resting against his cold, empty plate, he sat trying to control his temper.

"Well it looks like you haven't been civilized at all, Potter, you're still eating off of the plate like the little bitch you are."

Furius, he turned around menacingly to see a smug Severus Snape. "Listen, Snivellus, I am not in the best of moods and you are not and have never been on my good list," he said poking Severus with his wand. "Fuck off before I hex you so much you come out clean and grease-less."

Jumping off the bench, he stomped out of the Hall, leaving behind a frowning Severus.


	10. Discussions

**History Repeats Itself**

**Chapter 9 - Discussions**

Lucius Malfoy smiled arrogantly as an angry Severus Snape took a seat beside him. Muttering darkly, Severus reached out a wiry hand to serve himself some food. Lucius continued to watch and smile.

With a snarl, Severus snapped. "What the hell are you so smug about? Has _your_ day gone any better than mine?"

"Well, actually... yes!" he replied, snorting. "I have almost tamed the firy dragon that seems to have Potter in a twist... she's practically eating out of my hands. Oh how wonderful it will be to taint my nemesis' _love_."

At the sound of the word, Severus choked on the bit of sandwich in his mouth. "Love? James Potter? The most arrogant student to ever grace Hogwarts with his presence? In love with someone other than himself? Are you sure we're talking about the same person?" He sputtered without breathing.

"Yes, you bloody twit!" Lucius bellowed. "We are both talking about James Potter! It's completely obvious with the way he's been cting that he really fancies Lily, the one who shares a wing with _me_."

A knowing smirk grew on Severus' face. "So you're going to fuck her, then leave her to the dogs... namely James Potter and Sirius Black?"

The smirk instantly disappeared as Lucius wrapped his hand around Severus' neck. "No. I'll make it worse. I'll make her fall in love with me. Potter will surely break then." Yanking his hand away from Severus' red-streaked neck, Lucius stalked out of the Hall.

Once again, a frowning Severus was left behind.

* * *

Jess and Lily munched happily away at their sandwiches.

"You know, Lils, I think they both fancy you." Jess stated flatly.

A look of confusion fluttered across Lily's features. "Both, who? Jess, do you know something that I don't?" she asked, her hand tightening around the poor, defenseless sandwich.

"No! That's not it!" Jess said defensively, putting up her hands. "I know that Lucius happens to fancy you, with what you described to me earlier. All I'm saying is, from what I've heard, James acts rather... flustered around you, which comes off as he might fancy you. It's nothing to get angry about."

Lily sighed. "I know. But really," she had to laugh at the absurd notion her friend was implying, "James Potter fancying someone other than himself? He would stop getting detentions before I'd ever believe that he would like someone other than himself... nevertheless me."

"Remember that you said that, Lily." Jess warned, wiggling her finger at her best friend. "Because I won't let you forget."

"YOU'VE GOT FIVE MINUTES TO GET YOUR ARSE DOWN TO HISTORY OF MAGIC, LILY EVANS!" a voice yelled from within the room, causing Jess to fall off of the bed into a heap on the floor.

Lily giggled at the antics of her friend. "Calm down! It's just my alarm. I charmed it to tell me when to go places... like class and meals, for instance."

Jess grabbed the plates and clambered over the bed, heading for the door. "Well then, I'll be heading to class. I'll just leave these plates in your Common Room. See you at dinner?"

"Yeah!" Lily called as Jess sprinted out of the room.

* * *

Sirius eyed the gorgeous brunette whose chest was moving in time with her ragged breaths. He flashed a winning smile as she looked at him, still standing in the doorway of the classroom. Sauntering passed him, swaying her hips suggestively, she dropped a scrap of parchment on his desk.

> > Sirius,  
We have important matters to discuss. Meet me in the Astronomy Tower at midnight (I don't really care how many people you have to kick out, just get them out of there). However, don't you get any ideas.  
Jess

With as angelic a look as he could muster, Sirius nodded back his reply. Tonight, they would get together in the famous Couple's area to talk business about James and Lily.

* * *

With fingers tapping against the hard table, Jess let out an exasperated sigh. "Where is she?" she exclaimed. "I told her I'd see her at dinner. Where could she..." her voice trailed off as she jumped out of her seat. "That's right! I never said where we were having dinner! She's probably waiting for me up in her room!"

The door to the Hall opened as Lily poked her head in, glancing at the Gryffindor table. Her eyes widened at the shock of James sitting at one end of the table and Sirius, Remus, and Peter sitting, chatting at the other end.

Waving, Jess grabbed Lily's attention and motioned for her to join.

She moved hastily passed James, eyeing him warily. When she reached Jess, she voiced her confusion. "That has to be the oddest sight. What happened to them?"

The brunette shrugged. "Apparently, they've had a falling out."

Lily smiled happily. "Oh and what a sight that would have been! I would have almost paid to see that!"

"Mmm... I bet you would!" Jess said through a mouthful of roasted chicken with gravy. "Now will you please sit down and have something to eat?"

"Alright already! I'll eat something!"

* * *

She was a distraction, but a wonderful one. During the day, he could never stop thinking about the beautiful red-haired Head Girl, and from the moment she popped her porcelin face through the door until the moment she left, he could not keep his eyes off of her. With her in the same room, he stopped worrying about his friends... stopped hating Lucius Malfoy for being a prat (and being closer to Lily than him). More importantly, he started thinking about how he was going to apologize... to everybody. Starting with Lily Evans.

* * *

His watch read 11:57 as Sirius stood in the dark Astronomy Tower. "She's late! No buts about it! She'll stand me up! I can't believe that I was dumb enough to even come up here!" he called out to the murky darkness around him.

A snort brought him out of his rantings. "Well, I'll give you the dumb part... but take a look at your watch and tell me what it says."

"12:0... 0... 1! Hah! You are late!" Sirius performed a victory dance.

Playfully shoving him, she laughed at his antics. "You lie! I was here exactly at midnight!"

Sirius took a step closer to her and looked her straight in the eye. Moving beside her he threw his muscular arm around her shoulders. "Well, darling... sweetie... I had to kick everybody else out of here to get us some private time. What is it exactly that you would like to... _discuss_?"

Her eyes twinkled with mischief. "I do believe that we need to talk about a certain two people who need to sit down and have a nice little heart to heart."

Sirius jumped with glee inside and out. "I never thought you'd actually say it!" He slowly backed the beautiful Jessica White up against the cold, stone wall, placing his hands on either side of her shoulders. "So," he said unnerving her with his gaze, "where would you like to start?"

Jaw dropping, Jess' face lit up with excitement. "We should start right here! Think about it... you could tell James you need to talk to him privately, and I could do the same with Lily!"

"Right!" he exclaimed in reply. After thinking quietly for a few seconds, he spoke again. "Then we could get their wands and lock them in here with us guarding the door!"

They stood together, his hands still on the wall next to her slim shoulders. Moonlight gently landed on his face, allowing Jess to see his handsome features. He looked deeply into her eyes, without his usual smile, making her blush.

_Wow... he looks really cute_, she mused with a smile.

"You never answered my question," Sirius said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Answered what question?" she asked, hopelessly pretending to be innocently ignorant.

He flashed a smile. "I asked you where you would like to start."

"How about..." she leaned in, "right here?"

His lips instantly crashed against her soft ones. With a strong hand, he reached behind her and gently rested it on the back of her neck, pulling her in closer, deepening the kiss. She parted her lips with a little moan, allowing his tongue access. Running her fingers through his hair, Jess lost herself in the intensity of his passionate kiss.

Pulling away, she buried her face in his neck as he wrapped his arms around her and chuckled. _It's about damn time_... she thought with a sigh, inhaling his warm, masculine scent.

"You know... we should discuss things here more often."


	11. A Plan in Effect

**History Repeats Itself**

**Chapter 10 – A Plan in Effect**

The rest of the week passed by without incident. Lucius sat at the Slytherin table, sending secret glances and smiles at Lily, who caught most of them. James still sat by himself, brooding and trying to work out the right words in his mind, but they never seemed to be good enough. Sirius and Jess continued to send little notes to each other, trying to decide how they were going to carry through their plan. And Lily, well, Lily walked around in a half-daze trying to figure out everything that was going on.

* * *

Today was the day. They were going to clear out the Astronomy Tower after dinner and trick Lily and James into the tower. The trickiest part about the plan was how they were going to take away the wands.

"Maybe we could somehow convince them to leave their wands behind," Jess mused to a relaxing Sirius, who was currently leaning up against the wall.

"So what are you going to tell Lily? I've still got no idea how I'm going to convince James to go up to the tower with me."

With a slight shrug, she replied, "I was going to tell her that she has a very hot secret admirer waiting for her up in the Astronomy Tower. I was going to make it somewhat like a mystery to intrigue her."

"That's it!" Sirius exclaimed, pushing himself away from the stone wall. "I'll tell him that the rest of the Marauders want to sit down and talk with him… alone… up there. He'll jump at the chance to make peace with us."

Jess moved forward to place her toned arms around his waist. "You're so clever," she whispered, standing on her tiptoes and brushing his lips with her own.

Winking at her, he drew her into a tight embrace, wrapping his arms around her and placing a gentle peck on the tip of her nose. "I know," he grinned against her temple, kissing it.

"I'm going to spoil you rotten if you take everything that I say as flattery," Jess commented, pulling herself a little out of his grasp.

His eyes twinkled mischievously. "Is that a bad thing?"

A loud bell signaled for the last class of the day to end and the 7th year students piled out into the halls, finally dismissed from Muggle Studies.

Jess backed completely away from Sirius and waved at Lily. Locking elbows with her, the brunette girl chattered excitedly with her best friend as they headed towards the Hall for an early dinner.

James slumped dejectedly out of the classroom, glancing up at Sirius. He obviously stood there waiting for him, because James was the last student to leave the room.

Sirius draped a casual arm around his mess-haired friend's shoulder. "Sorry, Prongs mate. You know how much I hate giving you a hard time, but you were kind of… acting like a prick. But whatever, I'm here to tell you that we want to talk to you after dinner in the Astronomy Tower."

"So I'm finally allowed to sit with you guys again?" he asked hopefully.

Shaking his head, Sirius shot James a weak grin. "Nope, sorry. We're going to start talking to you _after_ dinner." He turned to walk away, but added, "Don't worry. We're still your friends."

* * *

"Come on, Padfoot!" Peter whined. "Tell us what's going on! Why are you being so secretive?"

Sirius cuffed him on the back of his head. "For the last time, Wormtail… no! I'm not going to tell you what's happening. I'm meeting James in the Astronomy Tower tonight under the pretenses that we all are."

Looking up at his friend, Remus smiled gently: he knew this had something to do with Jessica White. "We won't tell him," he promised, directing a glare at Peter.

He jumped up from the table, remembering what he had to do. "Sorry mates," Sirius said with a wink, "gotta finish up a few things before talking to Prongsie."

* * *

"Jess?" Lily asked her brunette friend as they sat in the Hall, chatting. "Why are you so excited?"

A big, blinding smile grew on her face as Jess winked at Lily. "Because I know something that you don't."

The Head Girl was instantly suspicious, "What?"

Glancing at her watch, Jess gasped. "You're going to be late!" She forced Lily to swallow the last of her food before dragging her out of the Hall.

Lily yanked her arm out of the tight grasp. "What am I going to be late for? Answer me!"

A mischievous twinkle appeared in Jess' brown eyes. "I think the correct question would be: _who_ are you going to be late for. Now get your pretty arse up to the Astronomy Tower!"

* * *

Looking in on a happily snogging Hufflepuff couple, Sirius whispered a few key words to his wand. It instantly let off a stream of electric sparks which jolted the two apart.

As the guy glared at him, the girl blushed and attempted to look away.

Sirius pointed his wand at them and made a movement with his head, silently telling them to leave. The two quickly edged their way passed his menacing wand, knowing they did not want any _other_ spells directed at them.

They disappeared behind him and he double-checked the tower to make sure that he did not lock any other people in with James and Lily.

Noticing a noise behind him, Sirius slipped out and hid himself down a shadowy hall just as James pranced by.

* * *

He fidgeted nervously. Originally, he had planned to just talk to Lily before he talked with his friends, but Sirius had approached him earlier and James did not want to pass up this most fortunate opportunity.

James spun around in surprise at the voice behind him. "James Potter?"

* * *

Lily raced excitedly away from Jess, calling out a hasty goodbye. She couldn't help but smile as she ran through the countless halls to the tower. Tripping on a disappearing step, Lily fell forward with a grunt onto the hard stairs.

Her legs wobbled underneath her as she forced her body off the ground. _I wonder who it is_, she mused, biting her lip.

_Lucius?_, she wondered, finally making her way into the Tower. Her eyes widened at the jet-black, messy hair.

"James Potter?" she exclaimed.

* * *

The wavy red hair disappeared in a flash and Jess paused before taking off, following her. Shooting wary glances around her, Jess searched for Sirius at the same time trying to keep a close distance between her and Lily.

Rough hands grabbed her and she let out a muffled squeal.

"Shh!" Sirius whispered, holding a finger to her pouting lips. He waved a hand for her to follow him, pointing his wand out in front of him."

Jess slid her wand out of the pocket of her robe and eyed the tall, dark, well-built beater. He mouthed the word 'accio' and pointed at her, indicating that he wanted her to get the wands.

"James Potter?"" They heard Lily call out.

"_Accio_ wands!" Jess yelled as Sirius slammed the door shut after retrieving the wands, sealing it with a quick spell. With a huge grin on his handsome face, Sirius wrapped his arms around Jess, planting a quick kiss on her cheek.

* * *

Both Lily and James grabbed helplessly at their floating wands only to realize that they were gon3e. As the door slammed closed, Lily placed her hands on the handle. Yelling and screaming, she took out her frustration on the door, trying to force it to open.

"Lily," James called.

"What?" she yelled, turning on him, menacingly waving a finger in his face. "This is all your doing, James Potter! _You_ arranged for this to happen! You tricked Jess!"

His face twisted in confusion. "What the hell are you on about? I'm up here because I'm supposed to talk to the Marauders and apologize to them."

Lily snorted a laugh. "You… apologize? That'll be the day."

Before James could utter a retort, a large, tawny owl soared through an open window, dropping a letter into James' hand. He opened it, read it, glared at it, and then handed it to Lily, who snatched it quickly.

> > > Dear James and Lily,
>>> 
>>> We're sorry that we had to do this to you, but the two of you need to sit down and talk things out. Lily: you actually skipped class because of an argument. James: you fought with the Marauders (your best friends) and made an arse of yourself.
>>> 
>>> We're both waiting outside for you two to work things out and make up and we won't let you out until you do.
>>> 
>>> Sorry to do this, but you see, we really had no other choice. The two of you wouldn't have talked about this without a little intervention.
>>> 
>>> Sirius and Jess

Crumpling up the note, Lily looked at James and slumped to the floor. "Looks like we're going to be here for awhile."


	12. Getting Out

**History Repeats Itself**

**Chapter 11 - Getting Out**

An hour had passed and no progress had been made. All Lily had done was lean up against the entrance and pout. James sat watching her from the other side of the tower.

He finally threw up his hands in frustration and stomped over to her. "Since you're not going to say anything, I suppose that I should start. I jump to conclusions, okay? I heard Jess calling Malfoy your boyfriend and I got... carried away. I'm sorry, Lily. I really am." James reached out his hand to rest it on top of her knee.

An angry look flitted over her face as she wrenched herself away from him. "How dare you? You degraded me by yelling out to everybody that I had slept with him!"

"Look, Lily! You had a dreamy look on your face. You let him touch you without pulling away. You share the same Common Room for Merlin's sake! What the fuck was I supposed to think?"

Lily ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. "Let me tell you something, James Potter: just because I pull away from _you_ does not mean that I pull away from everybody. We're not dating, Lucius and I, but if the offer was there..." she trailed off and looked away from James' stricken face.

"Well we both know that I jumped to conclusions."

"Damn right you did," she interrupted.

"But I want you to know that I'm sorry... for everything."

Lily snorted in response. "You know. If you had told me that years ago, then I'd've forgiven you, but 'I'm sorry' just won't cut it. You've done too much to me."

"What do you want me to do?" he snapped. "Because in case you didn't notice, we're stuck in here until we can get along and that won't happen until you forgive me."

"Forgive you? James, you're going to have to do so much more than just tell me that you're sorry. All the shit you've done to me, all those teasing remarks you've made... people can only take so much." A stray tear slid down her cheek before she quickly wiped it away, hoping he had not seen it.

Anger surged through his lithe body: anger at himself for causing her so much pain. "Remember the row we had where you said that you shouldn't be a Gryffindor?"

She looked up at him, her eyes beginning to water up again, as she nodded her head.

James moved closer to her and reached out a hand to comfort her and to see if she would pull away. "Lily, you are more of a Gryffindor than anybody else that I know. To take all of what we did and put on such a brave face to hide your obvious pain. Taking care of others' pain before facing your own. I only goaded them into pranking you and I only made fun of you because I liked you. I didn't know what else to do. You could almost say that I was afraid of what I felt." Her eyes narrowed and she slid away from him. James dropped his outstretched hand and sat down hard on the floor. "Think about it, Lily. I stopped making fun of you when I realized how much I thought of you. That's when I started asking you out."

Lily let out a loud sob, horrified at the fact that James was going to witness her breakdown.

Before she could protest, James wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his warm embrace. "Just cry, Lily. I promise that I won't tell anybody."

Shre rested her forehead on his shoulder while her fingers clutched tightly to the fabric of his shirt. He just sat and let her cry out all her frustrations onto his shoulder. When he felt her stop shuddering, James placed a light, gentle kiss on the top of her head. Lily stiffened at the touch, but did not pull away.

"Lily," he whispered into her ear, "I promise that when we get out of here, I'll make it up to you. I don't know yet what I'm going to do, but you'll know when you see it."

Mumbling something against his chest, Lily caused a deep, rumbling laugh to spill forward from James' lips.

Lily brought her face up to glare at his. "You laughed at what I said?" she asked incredulously.

"No!" he replied. "I laughed because you spoke to my chest, tickling it and preventing me from understanding what you said."

A smile broke across her lips and she giggled, a mischievous look in her eyes.

"What?" he asked as a look of horror crossed his face.

"James Potter... ticklish? This knowledge can come in handy."

"Psht," he sputtered. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't you?" she smiled at him and brought her hands up from he sides. "Well let me refresh you."

James opened his mouth to reply, but the only noise that came out was a long, bellowing laugh as Lily's nimble fingers found his ticklish spots.

"Don't play with fire, Lily," James breathed after willing himself not to laugh. "Because I happen to know that you're just as ticklish, maybe even more."

Her eyes widened, "Don't you dare, James!"

His fingers brushed lightly over her stomache, eliciting a laugh from her. James stopped instantly as she doubled over with laughter. "Can you promise me something?"

She looked at him, after taking a few minutes to breathe, and waited for him to continue.

"Promise me that you'll lighten up just a little bit. Laugh when we do things that are funny, smile when we do things that are stupid and make you happy."

Lily knew he was referring to himself and the Marauders and she sighed. He _was_ going to give up a lot in an attempt to obtain her forgiveness... she could afford to light up a little.

"Deal," she said quietly.

"What was that, Lils? I don't believe that I heard you."

"I said 'deal' alright?" she snapped. "I'll lighten up!"

James jumped up from the ground and pulled Lily up to join him. "Yay! We're going to be such good friends, " he bounced around with a goofy grin on his face.

"Don't push your luck," Lily got out before James picked her up and spun her around, oblivious to how close they came to knocking Sirius and Jess over.

* * *

Sirius had his back up against the Astronomy Tower door and had Jess on his lap, straddling his legs. He gently pushed her away when he heard something through the thick, wooden door.

Mumbling a protest, Jess shifted her weight and went to kiss him again, but only met the warmth of his hand. "Sirius!" she moaned softly against his fingers.

"Jess!" he replied with a quick grin.

She pouted against him, crossing her arms and casting a glare.

"Don't you hear that? I swear that I just heard laughing."

"Oh so now you're hearing things?" she mocked him with a giggle that was quickly silenced by a noise clearly identified as Lily Evans' laughter. "Great Merlin, they're laughing!"

Sirius clambered out from underneath Jess and muttered _'Alohamora_' in an attempt to get to James. As Jess joined him in walking through the open door, they heard Lily mutter, "Don't push your luck."

They watched, stupefied as James picked up Lily and spun her about, almost knocking them off their feet. Sirius' jaw dropped as James and Lily froze.

Jess smiled brightly at the pair and belted out a peal of laughter that echoed throughout the rafters. "It's about damn time you two made up!"

Sirius waggled his finger at James while Jess did the same to Lily. "No more pouting and sulking for you."

"And no more skipping classes for you!" Jess flew to her best friends' side and captured her in a big hug. "Let's go get something to eat!"


End file.
